


I (K)Need You - Three Times Tony missed an Opportunity to Pun and the One Time He Didn’t

by GoldenMoon_42



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bad Puns, Cellist, Cellist Tony Stark, IronStrange Gift Exchange 2020, M/M, Puns & Word Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenMoon_42/pseuds/GoldenMoon_42
Summary: Stephen knows that Tony loves puns. Stephen also knows that Tony loves to wait for a long time to pun.OrThree times that Tony missed the opportunity to pun and One time he didn't
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25
Collections: IronStrange Gift Exchange 2020





	I (K)Need You - Three Times Tony missed an Opportunity to Pun and the One Time He Didn’t

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redheadednerd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redheadednerd/gifts).



> This is my gift fic for redheadednerd on here and on tumblr. 
> 
> I chose her first prompt: 
> 
> For a fic: Domestic life of Tony and Stephen! Possibly including Peter Parker. I love fluffy fics, but angst is also A+! I'd love to see Stephen and Tony being domestic, maybe Stephen starts teaching Tony magic, stuff like that :)
> 
> I decided to do snapshots of domestic life between the two.
> 
> I have also made her a playlist because I needed the inspiration to write this fic and I decided why not include the playlist in the gift. So I also based the music on how Tony and Stephen would be post-Endgame Canon Divergence cuz F*** Canon!
> 
> Also note: I might have picked the first 4 ish songs because of the title of the songs matched the puns I made. 
> 
> Another note: I got inspiration for this pun fic from this post by salty-ironstrange-shipper's [ post on tumblr](https://salty-ironstrange-shipper.tumblr.com/post/637417732185473024/tony-sleeping-rolls-over-and-knees-stephen-in) .

“Puns are the droppings of soaring wits”

~Victor Hugo

“Puns are a form of humor with words”

~ Guillermo Cabrera Infante

* * *

Stephen sighed as he laid in bed with Tony. The bedroom was dark with only a sliver of moonlight shining through behind the curtain illuminating the ceiling above Stephen. Tony was asleep sprawled out next to him and Stephen was still awake. He had just put away his magic book having decided that reading for almost sixty minutes after Tony fell asleep was a good amount of time to read. Today had been a very exhausting day for Stephen. The reason for his exhaustion was Tony... and his love of puns. Stephen knew Tony enjoyed puns, but to what extent Stephen had no idea. Stephen hated puns and being married to someone who loved puns was an interesting experience, but if it put a dimpled smile on Tony's face then Stephen can deal with the puns. However, it wasn’t the constant barrage of puns that exhausted Stephen, but instead, it was the randomness, the spontaneity of when Tony was going to pun that exhausted him. He had no idea when Tony was suddenly going to make a pun and so he had no way of preparing himself for the ridiculousness of the pun. That meant that Stephen spent the whole day preparing himself for the moment Tony would spew a pun at him. In the end, Tony had not said a single pun at all, and Stephen was mentally exhausted. Stephen supposes that Tony had decided to give him a break from all the puns that Tony had in his arsenal. Stephen couldn’t help but think back to all the moments of the day that Tony could have punned Stephen.

* * *

1) _“I’ve been working on it a latte/au lait."_

It was just after breakfast and Stephen, having been sitting on a stool near the kitchen island, was now getting up ready to start Tony’s magic lesson said, “Hey Tony, I’ll meet you outside once I’m done with coffee so we can start your magic lessons.”

Tony was sat on the couch looking at the tv screen, the morning's news playing, with Peter, sat next to him playing on the latest Animal Crossing game on his switch, with Aunt May looking over his shoulder watching Peter’s progress on his virtual island.

“Okay, I’ll see you there in a few minutes,” replied Tony, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Don’t be late,” urged Stephen, knowing well how late Tony can be.

“I won’t be late, I promise, no need to remind me,” responded Tony as he took a sip of his coffee, “I’ve been working on it a lot.”

Stephen almost replied, when he noticed the missed moment of a perfectly good coffee pun from Tony. He frowned a bit and looked towards Peter and May. He could see the looks in their eyes that spoke volumes of how surprised they were at the missed opportunity to pun, for they were also victims of Tony’s puns. Tony would never miss a chance of inserting a pun any time a chance was presented to him. However, Stephen also knew Tony well too, he also knew that Tony could go for hours of no puns until the perfect moment came. Stephen knew that Tony could pun at any given moment, steeling himself, so he readied himself every minute of every hour for the moment Tony would pun.

It was at this moment that Stephen was on high alert for Tony’s pun.

* * *

2) _“Oh, are you cellous? If I say yes, would I get in treble and be you know what?”_

Stephen, at this moment, was laid on the couch, arm resting over his face in an attempt to block the sunlight from the huge windows and also maybe to wait for sleep to take him. Stephen had spent most of his day at Kamar-Taj training the sorcerers, and coming home and changing into his comfort clothes were the highlight of his days. 

Stephen was almost asleep when he suddenly heard the soft dark hum of an instrument. He sat up trying to hear more of the piece. He knew Tony was the one playing the instrument. Stephen closed his eyes trying to imagine what instrument Tony was playing, he focused long and hard, when he could finally envision what the instrument was. Stephen couldn’t believe himself when he didn’t immediately get the sound of the cello. He loved the sound of the cello. Once again Stephen strained his ears a bit to figure out what piece was and to no surprise, he could not figure out what piece Tony was playing.

Stephen loved music so much that he could rattle off the name of the song, the artist, the genre, and the year it debuted after just a few seconds of hearing the music. However that ability did not extend to classical pieces, that ability was solely meant for Tony. It wasn’t a surprise to Tony that Tony could do that. The first time Stephen witnessed Tony spout out information about a classical piece was the day he learned that Tony could play the cello. It made sense that Tony loved listening to classical music and playing the cello, not only was his mother Maria Stark a talented pianist but she was a well-known cellist. 

Stephen slowly got up from the couch, shuffling towards the door of the music room. As he walked into the music room, he found Tony facing the ceiling to floor window, the sunlight shining down on him haloing him. Stephen always loved it when he got to witness Tony playing any instruments like the piano or the cello. He especially loved it when Tony played the cello. Tony playing cello was the most beautiful thing Stephen had the opportunity to see. Tony held the cello as though a lover both gentle and firm and watching his husband, Stephen could somehow feel the emotions of the piece, and the piece Tony was playing felt so full of love, a love so full and unchanging as though it had matured and Stephen felt like he was drowning in the love. It was as if the love Tony was feeling for him was slowly filling up his lungs and it was overwhelming in such a good way. Stephen kept listening as Tony played on until the cello faded into silence. 

“That was beautiful Tony,” whispered Stephen, still caught up in the emotions of the piece.

Stephen saw Tony turn his head over his left shoulder, forgetting that the scroll of the cello was there and Stephen saw Tony’s nose hit the scroll. 

“OUCH!” yelped Tony, his left arm coming up over the fingerboard of the cello to gently cover his nose.

“Oof, let me see Tony,” said Stephen, walking over to Tony urgently, worried about any possible injury that Tony might have gotten and gently cradled Tony’s face in his trembling hands.

“It’s fine Stephen, I’m used to it,” assured Tony, his left hand that covered his nose, moved to gently grip his scarred hand.

“I know, I just get worried over any possible injuries you get,” answered Stephen.

“Now, Doc, what are you doing here? I thought you were taking a nap?” Asked Tony, curiosity in his eyes.

“I was but then I heard you playing, and I wanted to hear more and I also wanted to know what the piece was,” confessed Stephen 

“Oh, that was Franz Liszt’s _Liebesträume No. 3,_ he wrote it based on the poem by Ferdinand Freiligrath about unconditional mature love. It was originally written for a soprano voice, but people have played the piece on the piano or cello,” replied Tony, “and I wanted to play it because it reminded me of us.”

OH, Stephen was touched. Did Tony feel all of that from one piece? Before Stephen could spout out anything cheesy, he snarked back at Tony, “Are you sure about that, Tony? Cuz it seemed as though it was about your deep unconditional mature love for your cello.”

The moment he said those words, he could see a twinkle of mischief appear in Tony’s eyes.

“Oh, are you jealous? If I say yes, would I get in trouble and be you know what?” challenged Tony, giving Stephen his signature smirk and wink.

“Maybe, we’ll see,” retorted Stephen, a smirk also appearing on his face.

* * *

3) _“I am being seerious here”_ and _“I’m feeling the energy and I’m also in the right elementality to merge my magical energy with the energy of this object,”_

Stephen and Tony were in a hidden spot at Kamar-Taj, Stephen teaching magic to Tony in private. Stephen had started teaching his husband magic when he realized that Tony had the potential to be a really good sorcerer. Tony had the open-mindedness imagination to let go of the rules while still adhering to them that the other sorcerers seemed to look for in their potential students. 

So here were Stephen and Tony somewhere in Kamar-Taj in an area hidden from the others, as a way of keeping Tony’s privacy. After defeating Thanos and undoing his mess, Tony stepped down from the spotlight to relish in what privacy he had left while recovering from his injuries. Privacy was also not the only reason for the hidden spot, but also as a way to keep any students away from the blast range of any magical mishaps that might happen with Tony. Stephen was not really surprised when Tony’s magic caused an explosion, it was a small one, but an explosion nonetheless. Tony’s magic felt almost chaotic, an energy that was unwilling to be chained down to basic spells. 

Stephen really loved Tony, but he was extremely stubborn and insistent when it came to magic. Yes, Stephen was glad that Tony wanted to learn magic, wanting to learn the mechanics behind the whole process made him a difficult student to teach. Besides, Stephen was able to keep his cool because he knew that that was how his husband learned. However, he almost lost it when Tony asked the same question again.

“But how am I supposed to make this object move with my magic?” Asked Tony, as he stared at the object in question. 

“Tony, please be serious, just focus on the energy of the object and merge with that energy,” explained Stephen again with exasperation clear in his voice. 

“I am being serious here,” countered Tony.

Stephen could hear the snark in Tony’s voice, as though he was aware of the fact that Stephen was reaching his limit with the questions.

“I’m feeling the energy and I’m also in the right mentality to merge my magical energy with the energy of this object,” continued Tony, his eyes hardening, focus all on the object in front of him. 

“Okay then, now take a deep breath and just let go of all the rules of society and gently connect with that energy, Tony,” intoned Stephen, watching Tony release the tension as he cast his magic towards the object.

* * *

\+ 1) _Yeah, I do kneed you ..._

With a smile on Stephen’s face, he slowly closed his eyes as he slowly fell into sleep’s sweet embrace. His breathing slowed as Stephen finally dreamed of sweet memories and happy days with his Tony, when the dream was suddenly stopped for Stephen had woken up to a sharp pain to his side. Stephen lifted himself up a bit on his elbows, looking to his left side to find that Tony’s knee was somehow able to knee him in the ribs. Tony was lying on his stomach almost in a starfish way, his left leg curved in a way that meant that he could easily knee anyone next to him. 

Leaning on his left elbow, and with his right hand gently shook Tony awake. As Stephen waited for Tony to somehow wake up from his deep sleep, Stephen couldn’t help the small smile that was beginning to make its way to his lips. Tony had scrunched up his nose, having felt the gentle shake, his eyes closed. Stephen could see that Tony had felt the gentle shaking but had probably taken it as the “You’re taking up all the space on this bed, please move” because he saw Tony shift more to his side of the bed and was pulled back into his dream world. 

Stephen again gently, but firmly shook Tony’s shoulder, and feeling confident that Tony was more awake now, whispered to him, “Tony, you just kneed me.”

Tony who was now half-awake but still in his dreams, replied, “Yeah I do need you, Stephen.” 

Stephen couldn’t believe it. He suddenly felt that familiar feeling of annoyance but coupled with fondness began to wash over him. Stephen knew Tony loved puns, but he loved cheesy lovey-dovey puns even more and Stephen couldn’t help but fall in love with his husband even more. He watched Tony slowly but loudly wiggle closer to his body, the sheets rustling as he watched Tony’s arm moving, looking for Stephen’s body to hold.

With a sigh, Stephen cooed at Tony with words that used to be spoken in annoyance, but now as a term of endearment, “Oh come here, you douchebag.”

With that, Stephen settled into bed and wrapped his arms around his Tony, giving him a kiss on the forehead and whispered, “I need you too.” 

Both men finally dreamed their own dreams of happiness as they slept through the night still wrapped in a loving embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this!!! Kudos and Comments are awesome!!!
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://music-is-the-voice-of-the-soul.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fe_kween) .


End file.
